00:00 The Native American reservation system was a way to remove Native Americans from their traditional lands and take their land for European and American settlers, and the effects of this process are still felt today.

05:34 Native Americans were forced west and squeezed into smaller territories through violence and broken treaties, resulting in the creation of reservations.

10:50 In 1851, the federal government created a system of reservations for Native Americans, where they were moved and expected to live more like the settlers, relying on the government for food and supplies. Over the years, there were policy shifts, including the Dawes Act of 1887 which broke up reservations and gave families plots of land, and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 which allowed tribes to repurchase their original lands. In the 1950s and 60s, termination policies aimed to assimilate Native Americans into urban areas, but the Indian self-determination and education act in 1975 reversed this and officially recognized tribes and supported reservations.

15:59 The United States has tucked Native Americans away on reservations and forgotten them because they don't want to imagine what happened to them happening to their own families.

20:52 Native American reservations are federally owned and held in trust by the US government to protect them from state laws and taxes, but the government often fails to meet its obligations to take care of the land and the people living on the reservations.

26:20 Native American reservations have a patchwork system of self-government, with some tribes having their own courts and law enforcement agencies, while others rely on regional courts and the Bureau of Indian Affairs police, and there is a push to revitalize native cultures and teach them in schools.

31:28 Efforts are being made to save and preserve Native American languages, such as the Cherokee language, which is at risk of dying out, with the goal of gaining more speakers within the decade; the US government has also provided grants to support language preservation, but there is a sense of urgency as time is running out.

36:33 The Navajo Nation is the largest tribe in the United States, with 400,000 enrolled members and a reservation that spans Utah, Arizona, and Mexico, and they were able to negotiate a treaty to regain their ancestral lands.

42:18 The Navajo Nation has its own legislative council, executive branch, and court system, but 36% of households are below the federal poverty level and lack running water, highlighting the need for improved infrastructure and resources on Native American reservations.

47:43 The life expectancy on Pine Ridge Reservation is 48 years for men and 52 years for women, the second lowest in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti, highlighting the dire conditions and lack of resources on Native American reservations.

53:07 Native American tribes, such as the one in Jackson, Tennessee, have become wealthy through various means, including casinos, and each member of the tribe receives $128,000 per year, even including babies whose money is held in trust.